Updated at 12:40 p.m. with additional information throughout.
WASHINGTON — Texas’s newest congressman, Jake Ellzey, was sworn in Friday morning, three days after winning a special election against a rival who enjoyed Donald Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” — an achievement that rocked Trumpworld and left strategists pondering whether the ex-president’s grip on the party is slipping.
Ellzey brushed aside the chatter.
“We both had outstanding endorsements,” he said. “I supported President Trump in 2016 and 2020. He called me on the way down to Austin the other day. We had a wonderful phone call — after I won. He couldn’t have been nicer.”
Ellzey defeated Susan Wright, widow of Ron Wright, who died of COVID-19 in February, just weeks after the start of his second term. Former Gov. Rick Perry and the congressman who held the seat for over three decades before Wright, Joe Barton, were in his camp, with Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz backing Wright.
On Friday morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi swore in Ellzey on the House floor, then posed for photos as they reenacted the swearing-in. His wife, Shelby, held the Bible as their children, McCall, 12, and Jack 9, stood nearby. The family lives just outside Midlothian in Ellis County.
“We haven’t slept in six months,” the conservative Texas Republican confided in the speaker as they set up for the photo, removing masks momentarily.
He was up early on Friday, too, even before he officially became a federal lawmaker, joining the Republican baseball team for its 5:30 a.m. workout.
“He’s a great guy. I’ve known him for a long, long time, and he’s going to represent the district well. He’s a patriot,” said Rep. Roger Williams of Austin, who manages the GOP team, after crossing paths with the Ellzeys in Statuary Hall. “We need more folks up here on both sides that think on the fact America is still the greatest country in the world. He’s fought for America. The other good thing about him is he can play centerfield.”
Batting practice went well, too, he added.
Ellzey, a Naval Academy graduate, flew H-60 helicopters, F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets. He served with SEAL Team 5 in Iraq.
He retired as a commander, which means that among the 10 veterans in Congress from Texas, he’s outranked only by retired Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, who served as White House physician.
After the Navy, Ellzey became a commercial pilot and a first officer at Dallas-based Southwest Airlines.
Rep. Kai Kahele, a freshman Democrat from Hawaii who flew C-17 and C-130 cargo planes in Iraq and Afghanistan for the Hawaii Air National Guard, is a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines.
One of Ellzey’s Navy pals, Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., was on hand in the ornate Rayburn Room of the Capitol for the ceremony with Pelosi, snapping photos.
“He was one of my best friends,” Garcia said. “We flew Super Hornets off the Nimitz together back in 2003.”
The fact they both ended up in Congress, he said, is “total coincidence,” especially since both came in via special elections; Garcia replaced Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned in 2018 after allegations of an affair with an aide.
Ellzey, said Garcia, will bring “a pragmatic approach and a true sense of patriotism as a combat veteran. I think that’s what we need more of in Congress right now. And, you know, to do things for the right reasons in the interest of the nation and longevity of the country.”
Other Texas congressmen surrounded Ellzey on the floor as he took the official oath.
Then Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, elected in 1992 and dean of the Texas delegation, formally welcomed him to the House.
“Our beliefs may differ. Our votes may contrast,” said Johnson, whose district is adjacent to his. “But I do not doubt for a moment that we share the same commitment to public service and the same sentiment that what we need is consensus builders, people willing to work together regardless of party for the good of the constituents.”
Ellzey delivered his first floor remarks minutes after swearing in
“I’d like to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ,” and his family, Ellzey said. He promised constituents that “I will serve you with quiet professionalism. ... I believe America is exceptional. I love my country. It’s an honor to serve.”
With the addition of Ellzey, Congress now has 92 military veterans. Texas has the most of any state.
Ellzey was elected to the Legislature only last year.
He also served in Iraq with Morgan Luttrell, a former Navy SEAL running to replace Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, who is retiring.
“You serve and then you get the itch to serve again,” Ellzey said. “Service. It’s all about the district. It’s all about constituent services and taking care of my fellow military and veterans.”
Trump advisors blame the conservative Club for Growth, which spent more than $1.1 million to help Wright, for luring him into throwing his weight behind her. He carried the district by 3 percentage points last fall, though it’s been in GOP hands since 1983.
Trump has fumed at ending up on the losing side, and since Tuesday has stepped up spending in an Ohio special election, where a second defeat for a preferred candidate would be politically devastating and earn him the label of “loser” — the worst epithet in the Trump lexicon.
But Ellzey said people are making too much of that subplot in Texas’ 6th District contest.
“The people in our district watched two campaigns. It was very close. They liked Susan. They liked me,” he said. “Endorsements get the news clicks but at the end of the day, people vote for the candidate.”
With Ellzey seated, the Texas delegation in Congress is back to full strength at 23 Republicans and 13 Democrats.
Texas will have two more seats starting in the 2022 elections, thanks to population gains in the most recent census.
